Ada and Dimitri Rebikoff

History

The Foundation is based on the life and work of Ada and Dimitri Rebikoff, pioneers in the development of underwater technology.

Dimitri Rebikoff (1921-1997) and Ada Rebikoff (1913-2011) were amongst the great pioneers of diving, and underwater photography in particular.

Dimitri Rebikoff developed the first underwater electronic flash, stereophoto and film cameras, the world´s first underwater scooter, the Torpille, the Pegasus and the first remotely operated vehicle (ROV). His contribution to the development of underwater photography was ground-braking.

Milestones in the life of Dimitri Rebikoff:

After the 2nd World War, D. Rebikoff studied at the University of Sorbonne in Paris. Later on, he moved to Lausanne in Switzerland where he opened a workshop and made his first important invention, the Colormeter, a color/temperature measuring meter.

1947: The invention of the portable electronic flash created a milestone in technical-scientific photography. It bacame possible to take a picture of a bullet at the moment of muzzle discharge with a shutter speed of up to 1 millionth of a second.

1952: Development of the first underwater scooter, the “Torpille”, which later became the world´s first remotely operated underwater vehicle, the “Poodle”.

1953: Development of an underwater vehicle for divers, the “Pegasus”. The “Pegasus” was equipped with Gyro instruments and found international success.

1959: Ada and Dimitri Rebikoff moved to the United States. Dimitri worked as a chief engineer with companies like Loral, Chicago Bridge etc. New technologies led to further developments in TV and high speed underwater film cameras.

Underwater vehicles like the “Pegasus” and the “Sea-Inspector”, equipped with underwater cameras, were used by oil companies, the movie industry, the Oceanographic Office and the US Navy.

The Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation (FRN) is a non-for-profit organization for marine research based in Horta, on the Island of Faial. The Foundation’s goal is to facilitate research and in-situ observation and documentation of deep-sea environments by means of manned submersible technology.